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Topic: Towing a wakeboard boat? (Read 737 times) previous topic - next topic

Towing a wakeboard boat?

So, living in Austin, I owned a competition wake board boat for about 10 years.  Sold it a couple years ago due to young children, but now that they're getting older considering getting another.  I see the FT as a mobile lake house.  Who needs to spend all that money on lake shore property when I can show up at almost any lake in the US (normally with a lake view) and enjoy all the benefits for a fraction of the cost!  My concern is not really towing a boat around so much as getting it into the water.  Just curious if any of you have experience with this?  Have you run into issues with wet or steep, slippery ramps?  I've had 1/2 ton trucks slip pretty badly almost getting pulled into the water, but have always managed to avoid any real issues.  The boat weighs much less than the MH relative to a half-ton truck, so I would think the weight of the boat down the ramp wouldn't be the issue so much as just having a 15 ton vehicle start slipping with no way stop it!

Also, I've seen 3/4 ton diesels struggle in 2 wheel drive due to light back ends and all the torque.  MH is pretty heavy in the back, but does have a lot of torque.
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #1 –
Benjie,

If you install a hitch, even if off centered, on the front of the coach, it is easy to launch the boat and with a little practice one can back out to where the trailer and be switched to the rear hitch to leave the launch area.  This will keep the drive wheels well away from the water.

I have parked many a boat into boat storage stalls this way and it was always easy getting into stall and could see the boat going in to miss the side of the storage stall.
Rudy Legett
2003 U320 4010 ISM 450 hp
2001 U320 4220 ISM 450 hp
1995 U320 M11 400 hp
1990 Granvilla 300 hp 3208T
Aqua Hot Service Houston and Southeast Texas

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #2 –
Rudy, not a bad idea! I'll take a look into what that would entail.

Still curious if anyone has been doing this successfully from the back or if anyone's had issues.
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #3 –
Hmm.  Ok, I'm not sure I want to be in the coach as you back or push the boat into the water.  One slip of ANYTHING and you, the boat and your "home" are in the drink!  What you might consider is finding a buddy that wants to Ski/Wakeboard who owns a truck and have him back it in for you! 

I'm just saying....  We live near lake Marble Falls and Lake LBJ.  I see tons and tons of trucks backing their boats into the water. Don't see a motorhome do it that often. 

At Lake LBJ marina, they will launch your boat for you and there is a great campground on the lake (Sunset point). 

Tom & Bill

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #4 –
Oh, and I don't think there are any public boat ramps open on Lake Travis right now due to the lack of water. 

Tom & Bill

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #5 –
Hello: We have a 36' 2002 U-270 that we have towed are 23.6'(232) Rinker all over the state of Texas load & unload with out any trouble at all . The hardest part sometimes is that you have to back down a long way if the turn around is not big enough.  Lake Sommerville, Travis, Belton ,and Buchanan, you get the idea...have fun, good luck!!  Provided there is water to boat in!
John Patrick
2002 U270

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #6 –
SWEET! I know some of the competition boat manufacturers (Ski Nautique, Mastercraft, Tige, etc) have had their wake board professionals tour the nation in RVs with a 21' or 23' competition boat in tow, but I never witnessed them dropping the boat in so had no clue how they were doing it. If/when I get another boat, my thought was somewhat frequent trips to Lake Austin, Travis, LBJ, etc with some longer trips to Lake Ouchita, Table Rock, Beaver, Possum Kingdom, Eufala, and maybe even rotate Mead, Shasta, and Powell once every 2-3 years.

Gonna try and hit up Emma Long Park on Lake Austin this weekend to scout it out and do my first test run in the new to us U295.

Problem with inboard boats these days is a new one will run you easily north of $50K with some of the Nautique and Mastercraft into the $80s! Keeps used boat prices pretty high as well. GRRRR!
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #7 –
That would be ideal, but often difficult to find unless I'm staying local whereas my wife could drive one of our other vehicles with the boat in tow.  Anything an hour or more away would probably be difficult to find a buddy willing to come with us every time.

Quote from: txforetravel –
What you might consider is finding a buddy that wants to Ski/Wakeboard who owns a truck and have him back it in for you! 
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #8 –


Benjie, just don't let this happen
Jimmy Freytag,  Ardmore, Ok
1999 36ft U320. — -SOLD—-
1988 40ft GV        1990 36ft U280
1993 40ft U280      1996 36ft U280
  TRAVEL WHILE YOU CAN THE TIME WILL COME
            WHEN YOU NO LONGER CAN.

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #9 –
Benjie,

No one has mentioned this, so perhaps it's not an issue on the majority of the boat ramps, but here in East Texas, the slope of the ramp where it meets with the top parking area is fairly steep.  I would be concerned that the underside of the coach might touch/scrape that junction.  Just a possibility. :-(
Don Hay
'92 Grandvilla, U-280
The Hayfever Express
Build #4055
'97 GEO Tracker
Life is like licking honey off a thorn.

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #10 –
Boat ramps have to be fairly steep in order to get the' boats deep enough to float off their trailers without putting the tow vehicle too deep in water. Oak harbor, WA has what I would have thought was the best boat ramp ever. The marina is part of an old World War II seaplane base and the seaplane ramp is the free launch ramp. It turns out that a ramp that a seaplane can easily climb is too shallow to launch a boat unless you have a very (VERY) long tongue on the trailer.

I kept my 25' Carver sport fishing boat there one year and opted to use their sling for moving it back and forth to the trailer.

Craig
1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Benjie Zeller –
.................................. Just curious if any of you have experience with this?  Have you run into issues with wet or steep, slippery ramps?......................................
Benjie,
We've been doing it for years.  A few pictures attached below.
One needs to exercise common sense and needs to know what they are doing with a large vehicle, but we've not had any problems.  If anything, if the ramp access area has a reasonable approach for the coach/boat combination and the ramp break angle is appropriate, it's been easier to use the coach than to use a van or SUV.  The coach mirrors and camera provide much more information while the brakes, pull-out torque and traction are far superior to smaller tow vehicles.  Of course, a spotter with good communication should be mandatory.  Lake ramps tend to be short and steep in New England and the coach overhang tends to make the trailer take on a steep angle.  North Atlantic Ocean ramps tend to be shallow and long. I second Don's note on being very aware of the ramp-to-underbody clearance at the point of break, but I've never had a ramp break angle clearance or slippery approach issue (and ALWAYS keep the coach drive wheels on good, un-wetted, solid surface).
The Donzi is a 1985, 22', 2+3 Classic w/Corvette LT-1 Small Block power (74 MPH properly trimmed and enough chop to aerate the hull).  Normally, we just "putter " about at 35 or less.  But it is nice to leave a big block behind once in a while.  With 18 degrees dead rise,  it throws a great kneeboard and wakeboard wake. 
Cheers and just use good sense.
Neal
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Neal (& Brenda) Pillsbury
'02 U320 SPEC, 4200, DGFE, Build #5984
'04 Gold Wing
'07 Featherlite 24'
'14 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit
MC #14494
Exeter, NH & LaBelle FL
Quality makes the Heart Soar long after Price is Forgotten

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #12 –
Hey Neal, awesome pics!  Love the look of the Donzi.  Sounds like I should be OK as long as we use good judgement.  Now I need to start looking more seriously at boats!
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #13 –
Oh!  This I gotta see.  At the marina where we keep our boat the ramp is pretty steep and sand washes up on it.  It was original designed for launching seaplanes of all things.  Have dragged a few people up it over the years.  On one occasion I tied onto a guys 2 wheel drive pick up and another person tied on to me to get enough umpff to get him unstuck.  Lesson is don't get trailer into the sand!

Obviously it can and is done but I would take a hard look at the ramp before I tried it.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #14 –
All my launches will be into lakes.  Typically, its just wet concrete I'm dealing with.

Quote from: Keith and Joyce –
Oh!  This I gotta see.  At the marina where we keep our boat the ramp is pretty steep and sand washes up on it.  It was original designed for launching seaplanes of all things.  Have dragged a few people up it over the years.  On one occasion I tied onto a guys 2 wheel drive pick up and another person tied on to me to get enough umpff to get him unstuck.  Lesson is don't get trailer into the sand!
Benjie, Ashley, Zoey, Fallon, and Lake
Round Rock, TX
In search of our next monster...

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #15 –
Craig,

You have it made then.  Our ramp is on Lake Michigan at the Navy Base and is both steep and sandy.  I would take heed of Don Hay's comment about the break angle.  Where my coach is stored, in a warehouse, I have to raise the suspension all the way up to avoid scraping.

Keith
Keith, Joyce & Smokey the Australian Cattle Dog
1995 U320 SE Extreme 40' WTBI Build # 4780, with a Honda CR-V hopefully still following behind.
Motorcade # 17030
FMCA # F422159
 

Re: Towing a wakeboard boat?

Reply #16 –
Keith... I wonder if the designs - which seem so different - reflect the aircraft they were designed to serve. The base at Oak Harbor was used mostly for Catalina PBYs and they were notoriously underpowered; but the base has been there a long time and that ramp may have been designed long before PBYs. That ramp just goes on forever and by the time the boat on the trailer is floating so is the vehicle trying to launch it.

Oak harbor is one of the most beautiful places in the world though. Covered slips are inexpensive, the staff is nice and the weather is mild. The fishing isn't what it used to be but still not bad. The ramp sucks, though. :P

Craig

1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."